Cable strain clamp



Aug. 12, 1952 H. FRENCH CABLE STRAIN CLAMP Filed July 5, 1949 INVENTOR. HUMBOL DT FR ENCH BY %ffv r j Patented Aug. 12, 1952 2,606,350 7 CABLE STRAIN oLaMi? j '1 i f .Humboldt French, Oakland; y ADhHcationJulyS,1949,.ScrialNo.193.120; 1 Claim. (C1.

This invention relates to cabin strainfclaniips Qfthegeneral type shown inpthe patentsfto Kemper 1,811,942 and ll verley 2,40l,418 and the objects of theprese nt invention are to providefa simpler and cheaper construction than .rormer devices of this kind while providing a device more easily assembled for-use; yet of equal effectiveness. Other advantages. of the improvement will appear .in. the following. description andaccompanying drawings. and which. drawings'are substantially shown full size for use with a cable or cables of inch diameter. Of course the device may be made to suit any size cable.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the device with two bights of cable shown dotted in place and with one of the two cover plates removed to more clearly show one of the gripping roller mountmgs.

Fig. 2 is a lower end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the outer side of the removed cover plate.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the removed cover plate.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the inner side of the cover plate of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 1 taken along the line 6-6 of that figure.

Before describing the drawings in detail it may be explained that the present device consists of only three distinct or different pieces to manufacture, an elongated flat open-faced metal shell I with shallow opposite side walls or flanges, a gripping roller 2 with its fixed center pin, and a relatively short cover-plate 3 with shallow side walls, the whole device when assembled including one shell, two rollers and two cover plates.

In the drawing the side walls are designated 4 and are of a depth to just suit the diameter of the cable 5 for which the device is to be used, and these walls 4 also diverge respectively towards opposite ends of the shell to provide wedging walls for the rollers to grip the cables. Also the walls are each formed at opposite ends of the shell with outwardly directed lips or flanges 6, adapted to be embraced by or engaged by complementarily formed reentrant flanges 7 formed along the opposite longitudinal edges of the cover plates 3.

The cover plates are substantially a third the length of the shell and the lips 6 on the shell are about the same or a trifle longer, and the lips of the shell and embracing flanges oi the plates are arranged at an angle diverging toward the outer ends of the shell and plates when in position so that the seas than tents-ag the shellin opposite directions tdwedge .tightlyfin place as indicatedior the plate at theloiirer ml of the shell in Figs. lahd2.

The lips 6 lift e shell terminat at their inner endsjin spaced jrel'atioriigsufficient to permit applying thec'oiz r" plates to the shellon'e at a time at thenarrow est portion of. the open faced shell and sliding themrespectively towards the outer ends of the shell and strikingthem at their inner ends with any implement to driv them'to firmly locked position. I

To aid in locking the cover plates in place, the edges 8' of the lips of the shell may be knurled or otherwise roughened, and if desired the cooperating bottom of the recess 1' formed by the reentrant flanges 6 may be knurled.

The gripping rollers 2 which roll respectively along the angularly disposed side walls of the shell I to force or clamp the cables 5, 5' together against the opposite side wall, when tension is applied to the cables (in direction of the arrows) are of hardened steel and formed with a concave periphery 8 to fit against the cable and preferably provided with sharply milled teeth 8 to engage the cables.

The rollers are of a thickness to just roll freely between the shell and cover plate and are retained from rolling too far or getting out of place by means of a central pin 9 pushed tightly into a central hole in the roller and extending at one end beyond the roller to be guided in a groove Iil formed in the shell I, while the lower edge of the roller engages in a small groove H formed in and at the base of the adjacent side wall of the shell, and which side wall is also preferably curved inwardly as at l2 to fit within the concavity of the roller so as to be engaged by its milled teeth 8. The pin is preferably pushed into the hole in the roller after th roller has been placed in position with its edge in the groove in the side wall, the the pin may be first fitted tight into the roller and the assembled roller and pin sprung into the required position if the fit of the parts is not too tight.

While the above described construction is all that is necessary for locking two cables or two bights of the same cable together and to the housing shell, it is obvious that the shell may be made of a breadth to pass one cable only and which single cable will be locked to the shell upon pulling the cable and the shell relatively in opposite directions, and to this end the shell may be anchored by any suitable means, or as by one or more extension lugs as shown at [3 in Fig. 1

3 apertured as at M to receive an anchoring bolt or loop of an anchoring cable or stay cable. This lug I3 may of course be omitted where the device is used for clamping two cables together as in Fig. 1.

It should be noted that the taper of the shell side Walls to make the gripping rollers operate quickly, is preferably greater than the taper of the locking edges of the cover plates and shell edges 6, as these may be substantially parallel or just enough taper to insure a tight fit to lock the cover plates against displacement.

The above description and mode of operation of the parts is thought clear so that no further description of the device would seem necessary as its action in locking the bights of cable to each other and to the housing shell by the action of the wedging rollers is common to earlier devices of this kind, the present invention relating to the construction of the parts, adapted to be made of metal stampings.

I therefore claim:

In a cable strain clamp of, the, type having an elongated open ended shell longitudinally through which a cable to be clamped is adapted to be extended, said shell comprising an elongated plate with standing walls along opposite edges to receive a pair of adjacent cables between them, said walls diverging towards opposite ends of the shell, a pair of cable gripping rollers within and respectively adjacent each end 4 of the shell and rollable along one of its side walls, means retaining the rollers to the shell comprising an indented groove formed in th side wall of the shell adjacent each roller and the roller formed with a concave face with one of its edges projecting into the groove, a pin projecting axially from one side of the roller into an indented guiding groove formed in the inner side only of the shell plate for holding the roller against said wall.

HUMBOLDT FRENCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,218,752 Farr Mar. 13, 1917 1,351,366 Bowman Aug. 31, 1920 1,630,880 Yates May 31, 1927 1,931,346 Fries Oct. 17, 1933 2,291,903 Kemper Aug. 4, 1942 2,401,418 Everley June 4, 1946 2,524,254 Everley Oct. 3, 1950 v FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 604,929 France May 17, 1926 834,735 France Nov. 30, 1938 

